HEATWAVE. This is my island in the sun!

How hot has it been?

I’m sure you have heard nothing but how hot it is for the last week and a half but oh my GOD it has been glorious. I love the heat – I think because it gives me that tiny little feeling that I still live in Spain and it brings out the best in me (because I’m at my best when I’m in Spain, yet here I am – still in the UK after all this time)!

It’s not often that I get uncomfortable with the heat, but the last few days of the heatwave were quite tough – I became tired of having to constantly worry about my dog overheating and finding ways to cool her down in a house that somehow retains heat as though it’s an inferno. It has been long, but I’m sad now that the weather is cooling a little and I have to face the fact that what was inevitably our minuscule piece of Summer is now over. I do love a torrential downpour though, and without sounding like an 80 year old woman, we needed this!

Anyway – weather talk aside, I have lots of great recommendations for you this week! I seem to have somehow done a LOT of TV watching in the last couple of weeks, so have lots of things to recommend over coming posts. I also think I’m going to start adding a weekly wine recommendation to these posts, as I’ve also made it through A LOT of wine lately. Something you’d be interested in? Let me know – I’ve got plenty of recommendations!

Reading

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I really love Elizabeth Gilbert, and for those of you not so into the personal development space, you might know her as the author of the bestselling book turn film Eat Pray Love. A lot of the coaches I write for refer back to Big Magic as a gamechanger in shifting their mindset and the way they approach their lives and businesses, so I bought it last year but I never quite finished it. I tend to dip in and out from time to town when I am so called, and right now is one of those times.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes so eloquently on the topic of creativity and innovation, and I really love reading all of her wisdom. I’m aiming to finish the book this time though because I feel like I’m doing myself a disservice not completing it, but I already recommend it so go out and get it (or just ask me for my copy which I’ll lend to you – as long as you ask nicely and promise to give it back!)

Watching

The Way

I only ever really experience two what I’d describe to be yearnings in life: the yearning to live back in Spain and the yearning to travel.

Lately, I’ve been feeling that familiar yearning to get out and have an adventure. It’s been so long since many of us have been able to leave the country (for obvious reasons!) and I am now at the point where I feel desperate to get out and explore and travel, and I really just want to get back to Spain. If I’m being honest, this sensation never leaves me, it just buries itself and hides beneath the surface from time to time. Alas, it’s back (but if I’m being honest it’s been here for the last year) and something that really helped me get a little fix of wanderlust joy was watching this film!

It’s about a father whose son passes away doing El Camino de Santiago and after travelling over from the USA to identify his body, he ends up doing the pilgrimage himself. James usually refuses to watch this sort of thing – I still don’t think he’s ever fully watched my absolutely favourite (Into The Wild) – but he agreed to watch it and actually said he enjoyed this one. RESULT! It’s on Amazon prime but is one of the free films on offer (it still enrages me that you have to pay for Amazon Prime and then pay for some of the films on it, but that’s corrupt people like Jeff Bezos for you!)

Sex/Life

Oooooooooooooooph. This one isn’t for the faint-hearted. If you haven’t seen this show yet, you might have heard it because of THAT shower scene (which I tried to share here but for some reason can’t find it anywhere on YouTube, maybe because it’s too explicit?). Even though it was a a bit rubbish at times, and felt a bit – for lack of a better word weak – I really enjoyed this show. I loved the concept it toys with, which is: when you settle down and have a life partner and family at the compromise of your wilder, more fun younger self, is it ever really possible to let the old you go? Is it possible to still experience that vibrant, exciting version of yourself while in this new, slower, more mature way of life?

I think the show does a great job of exploring it, even with its flaws. I won’t say too much more because if you’re still reading this, YOU NEED TO GO WATCH IT! But don’t say I didn’t warn you – it is VERY raunchy. Like – borderline porn. Still, somebody must have approved it so there you go – go watch it!

Listening

Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – The Fratellis

My mum told me about this song because she thought Pet Shop Boys had done a cover of the original 70s hit and with that, I had to find it. I discovered this song and it wasn’t Pet Shop Boys, but The Fratellis, who I have to admit I’ve never really bothered listening to. Aside from Chelsea Dagger playing in every club I went to in my late teens and early 20s, I’ve never really heard much else by them and never taken the time to.

This song is brilliant – it is very Pet Shop Boys-esque and the lead singer in this one almost has a sound of Alex Turner too. It oozes coolness and character, I actually really like it. It seems they’ve changed the lyrics too and made them a little cooler, and all in all it’s just a pretty cool song. DID I MENTION IT’S COOL?!

Hasta Que Salga el Sol – Don Omar

I did mention that all this sun and heat made me feel like I was back living in Spain, and the timely arrival of the heatwave brought with it a reminder of a song I’ve not listened to for about 18 months, but one that I’ve listened to on and off since I lived in Spain all those years ago. It’s always been one of my favourite Spanish songs – though there are many – and it makes me feel so happy when I listen to it.

I can’t remember where I first heard this – perhaps in one of the many open-air nightclubs in Spain that I went to when I lived there that introduced me to my love for Latino music/Reggaeton and dancing literally beneath the stars. I’d translate it for you if I could be bothered, but the title is basically ‘Until the sun comes up’ and is all about partying and loving life until the sun comes up. Can you see why I like it so much?!

Before You Go…

Do you follow ThirtyAF or Thirty Something Probs on Instagram? These accounts honestly make me laugh out loud – if you don’t and you are of a similar age to me (I’m 31 in 3 weeks OH MY GOD where has the last year gone?!?!) you’ll love their content. Always spot on.

Also does anyone else see all these people in their Insta feeds doing impressive videos (reels) and wondering how the hell they did them? I had a quick look into reels, realised it was waaaay beyond my social media comprehension levels thus further evidencing that I am now officially old. And then I gave up. If anyone has any tips, send them my way please, as James thinks blogging is dead and I need to be vlogging (like I’d ever put my face and awful hybrid Scouse/Manc accent out into the Instasphere!)

That’s all for this week – fellow Englanders, hope you enjoy the rain and these ongoing downpours and that you had a nice couple of days of Summer this year. See you next week (or realistically, in about 3!), have a lovely weekend!